A New Spin on Single-Serve Coffeemakers

Single-serve coffee makers seem to be multiplying by the month; we’ve reviewed two in as many years. And now, our third.

Separating one brand from another often comes down to price for consumers; or in Remington’s case, lights, bells and whistles.

The iCoffee Opus debuted last November at Bed Bath & Beyond, boasting new technology designed to produce smoother, better-tasting coffee.

The Opus has a larger footprint than the $120 Keurig K45 Elite that we reviewed in the fall 2013 issue, and is quite a sight for a coffeemaker. Turn on the power and behold the beautiful blue LEDs shining up from the bottom of the water tank. Push brew and another set of lights shines down upon your coffee cup. When the first drops of your eagerly awaited beverage begin to fall, a decorative wheel atop the machine begins to twirl, reminding you of the SpinBrew technology going on just an inch below.

The Opus also allows a broader range of quantity, from a near espresso-like 4 ounces to a travel mug serving of 12 ounces, all in 1/2-ounce increments. The Keurig, just small, medium, large.

To test, we placed identical K-Cups in each machine for a side-by-side comparison. Both brewed 6-ounce cups within a few seconds of each other. Then two out of four tasters in a blind test proclaimed (albeit in a kind of weak, non-commital way) that the iCoffee-produced better coffee. Asked to explain why, two were at a loss for words while the other two said iCoffee was a more aromatic cup of coffee (words said without reading the website).

Let’s allow iCoffee’s website to elaborate: “SpinBrew Technology spins, steams and stirs inside every cup” resulting in a “smoother taste and a more pleasant aftertaste and aroma.”

The Opus produced a slightly better cup of coffee with more variety in the size, plus cool blue lights and a spinning wheel, for about $20 more. For more information, visit icoffee.com